Nanking Cherry

This species is widely cultivated in temperate E Asia for its flowers and edible fruit.

After publication of the FOC volume, it came to our attention that Wallich's 1829 publication of the name (Numer. List no. 715. 1829) is invalid.

Shrubs usually 0.3–1 m tall, rarely arborescent and 2–3 m tall. Branchlets purplish to grayish brown; young branchlets densely tomentose or glabrous. Winter buds ovoid, sparsely pubescent or glabrous. Stipules linear, 3–6 mm, villous. Petiole 2–8 mm, tomentose, glabrescent; leaf blade ovate-elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 2–7 × 1–3.5 cm, abaxially grayish green and densely gray tomentose but glabrescent, adaxially dark green and pilose, base cuneate, margin coarsely and acutely serrate, apex acute to acuminate; secondary veins 4–7 on either side of midvein. Flowers solitary or 2 in a fascicle, opening before or at same time as leaves. Pedicel almost absent to 2.5 mm. Hypanthium tubular to cup-shaped, 4–5 mm, outside pubescent or glabrous. Sepals triangular-ovate, 2–3 mm, both surfaces pubescent or glabrous, apex obtuse to acute. Petals pink or white, obovate, apex rounded. Stamens 20–25, shorter than petals. Ovary hairy or only hairy at base or apex. Style exserted, slightly longer than stamens. Drupe red, subglobose, 5–12 mm in diam.; endocarp sides sparsely ribbed. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jun–Sep.

Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.

Forests on mountain slopes, forest margins, thickets, meadows, also cultivated; 100--3700 m.

Prunus tomentosa Thunberg in Murray, Syst. Veg. ed. 14, 464. 1784; P. batalinii (C. K. Schneider) Koehne; P. cinerascens Franchet; P. tomentosa var. batalinii C. K. Schneider; P. tomentosa var. breviflora Koehne; P. tomentosa var. endotricha Koehne; P. tomentosa var. heteromera Koehne; P. tomentosa var. kashkarovii Koehne; P. tomentosa var. souliei Koehne; P. tomentosa var. trichocarpa (Bunge) Koehne; P. tomentosa var. tsuluensis Koehne; P. trichocarpa Bunge.